The toothbrush brand is less critical than the type of bristle and the head size. A soft toothbrush with a small head is recommended because medium and hard brushes tend to cause irritation and contribute to the recession of the gums. A small head lets you get around each tooth more completely and is less likely to injure your gums. It’s unnecessary to “scrub” the teeth as long as you brush at least twice a day and visit your dentist twice a year for cleanings.
Generally, no. However, it’s advisable to use fluoride-containing toothpaste to decrease the incidence of dental decay. We recommend our patients use what tastes good to them as long as it contains fluoride.
Flossing the teeth once daily helps prevent cavities from forming between the teeth that your toothbrush can’t reach. Flossing also helps to keep your gums healthy.
These are restorations to repair a severely broken tooth by covering all or most of the tooth after removing old fillings, fractured tooth structure, and all decay. The restoration material is made of gold, porcelain, composites, or even stainless steel. Dentists refer to all of these restorations as “crowns.” However, patients often refer to tooth-colored as “caps” and gold or stainless steel as “crowns.”
Both bridges and partial dentures replace missing teeth. A bridge is permanently attached to abutment teeth or, in some cases, implants. Clasps attach a partial denture to the teeth and are easily removed by the patient. Patients are usually more satisfied with bridges than with partial dentures.
Although the U.S. Public Health Service issued a report in 1993 stating there is no health reason not to use amalgam (silver fillings), more patients today request “white” or tooth-colored composite fillings. We also prefer tooth-colored fillings because they “bond” to the tooth structure and help strengthen a tooth weakened by decay. Fillings are also usually less sensitive to temperature and look better. However, “white” fillings cannot be used in every situation. If a tooth is badly broken down, a crown will usually be necessary and provide better overall satisfaction for the patient.
No. While most teeth that have had root canal treatments need crowns to strengthen them and return them to normal form and function, not every tooth needing a crown also needs a root canal.
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